kuroda made the remarks to reporters after conferring with prime minister abe on tuesday. it was their first meeting in four months. >> translator: we will not hesitate to make policy adjustments if domestic and overseas economic conditions make it difficult for us to attain the inflation target. >> reporters asked kuroda whether abe had asked for further stimulus measures to supply more money into the economy. he replied that the prime minister had made no specific requests. >>> let's get a check of the markets now. asian equities finished mixed. upbeat u.s. retail sales data released on monday provided some support to regional sentiment but many investors were keen to find more clues on the u.s. economy. also waiting to see the results of chinese gdp figures. those are due out on wednesday. here in tokyo the nikkei average gained 0.6%, finished off the day 13,996. some market players were out there looking for bargains after the index had fallen for two consecutive sessions. trading volume pretty thin, though, today. >>> china's shanghai composite with declines down 1.4%

bank of japan governor kuroda has stressed the economy is proceeding on a steady path. he was speaking about the nation's economic outlook at a news conference after the boj meeting. >> we will continue the current monetary easing steps until our 2% inflation target is achieved. but if risks emerge, we'll definitely adjust our monetary policy. >> kuroda said that the economy basically remains on a moderate growth path, despite effects from the consumption tax hike. he said the cycle is likely to remain in place backed by solid domestic demand and a moderate increase in exports. >>> all right on to the markets now. investors in asia in a wait and see mood today. trading volumes were pretty light ahead of the u.s. federal reserve policy meeting which is later on today. major stock markets across asia showing a mixed performance, while hong kong and taiwan saw selling pressure. some southeast asian stocks were up on solid corporate earnings. the hang seng in hong kong did decline day lower by 1.4%, 22,133. investors took advantage of the rally on tuesday. banks came in for

but bank of japan governor haruko kuroda spoke about the impact of the tax hike. he said the economy is likely to return to the recovery trend beginning around the summer. >> translator: we think the tax increase is expected to hurt personal spending and other areas of the economy in the april to june quarter. but the impact should gradually decline after the summer due to improvements in employment, and income growth. >> kuroda added that the central bank is not considering additional easing measures at this stage. he noted that steady progress has been made in achieving the inflation target. he said the boj will continue to monitor any risks to the economy, and will be ready to consider various options if necessary. >>> working people in japan are worried about the future of the economy due to the impact of the tax increase. the business sentiment declined if march for the fourth straight month. officials at the cabinet office have released the results of their monthly survey. they asked more than 2,000 workers across the country how they felt about the economy.

the yen gains as bank of japan governor kuroda stands pat on policy. he thinks there is room for additional stimulus if needed. >>> markets in japan slip on the lack of action. stocks in europe remain fairly flat, this after a volatile trade state side sees the major indices clock multiyear losses. >>> oil prices climb on renewed tensions in ukraine. russia's foreign ministry warns that the country could be facing a civil war. >>> nokia shares open higher after chinese regulators give the firm the go-ahead to close its handset deal with microsoft. it now has all relevant approvals. >>> we have some uk data out this morning, manufacturing data. we have an annual rise of the fastest rate since february 2011. the february manufacturing output rising 1% on the month, 3.8% on the year. much stronger than the 0.3% that we were actually anticipating. industrial output at 0.9% on the month, the strongest since june 2013. the forecast on that one, too, 0.3%. we've got the uk january figures for manufacturing revised to 0.3%, too. that's up 3.2% on the year. str

we got some commentary from kuroda, the governor of the boj today. he was signaling to parliament that stimulus isn't necessarily imminent. he did maintain a positive view on the broader economy. did also say there was headway being made to achieve that 2% boj target within about a year's time. so it all looks positive but the market still seems to believe, ross, that we'll see boj action expanding the asset purchases in about two to three months time. the end seems to be trying to factor this in as well. the dollar yen is worth looking at that cross that has been quite well bid recently. perhaps it has to did with the cpi, the print and the data we've seen state side. a lot of people are telling us, don't rule out dollar yen around 1.05, 1.06 is a one commentary we've been hearing. overall, fairly strong buyers, especially in the japanese markets, because of soft bank effect as well. and what we saw coming out of the -- coming out of alibaba. there were metrics put on it for you. the best percentage gain since february 18th. back to you. >> keep tal

that's according to the bank of japan governor, kuroda.uroda's remarks suggest the boj will revise up the previous fiscal year's price forecast and maintain its bullish projections for subsequent years in its twice yearly outlook report due out next week. >>> wh group, the world's biggest pork company is slashing its proposed hong kong ipo in delaying the pricing to next week. this is due to the tepid response as investors shy away from big deals on a flagging hong kong stock market. the firm is planning to reduce the size of its hong kong ipo to slightly less than $2 billion. well below the 5.3 billion that many were expecting. the chinese company made an ambitious takeover of smithfield foods eight months ago and is hoping to use the money raised to reduce debt. >>> and let's give you a look at what's on the agenda asia tomorrow. expectations are for a 25 basis point rate hike. bringing the interest rate to 3%. we'll also get results from cannon, fuji electric, and mitsubishi motors. meantime, byd will also report results. this is the ca

corona -- kuroda and the other bank of japan members are more likely to build confidence that the bankf japan will continue to struggle. rex at the meantime, we are at 102.40. we have been in the 101-105 range for quite a few months now. >> and i think we will stay there longer, to be honest. once the bank of japan starts using, that will accelerate higher. not just the bank of japan is doing more quantitative easing. i think the whole change in structural trade, large current account deficits that we see in extent,ffset, to some by the trading room and we are seeing in the u.s. >> mario draghi has spoken once again. he spoke yesterday in amsterdam. he was more explicit in his language. he said that the ecb may start on buying if inflation, if the outlook worsens. how close are we to further measures from the ecb? >> again, probably within a few months as far as quantitative easing is concerned. i think the bank can take steps before that, possibly just in terms of another cut in the refinancing rate. so i do think quantitative easing will come. the interesting thing, for me, will be,

. >> the bank of japan governor kuroda is speaking now. it is live.e bank of japan? you're talking about that news survey. right now, dollar-yen back to 103. one or 2.87. should gradually fade from the summer. between the end of this year and the end of 2015, it is a central bank is looking to act right now. they're certainly holding their cards close to the chess at the moment. they're not giving an obvious reading. supply and demand cap has closed considerably. there's nothing here right now this is the central bank looking to act in the next coming months. they're not giving away much right now. is it going to fade over the summer with the current policy? to be u.s. monetary policy that moves dollar yen, not japanese monetary policy. critics were talking about ozzy dollar earlier in the show. dollar. the aussie >> fed minutes from the last minute will be released tomorrow. coming up, tesco's turnaround and deutsche telekom's german advance. we will talk to about the stocks to watch. ♪ >> this is "countdown." the boj refraining from adding extra sti

most economists see the doj governor kuroda holding off from announcing any new policy stimulus tomorrowt a growing number see the boj actually doubling their etf purchases with july as the most favored as far as timing is concerned that policy move. elections in the world's largest democracy begin today, and the indian election takes place over the next five weeks. vote,of this crucial foreign investors have already voiced their vote of confidence, funneling over $10 billion into india's financial markets since the start of this year. , theoaden this theme out route and emerging-market currencies is becoming more than a family -- a fitting memory. -- a fading memory. while you do have emerging-market etf's billion in the first three days of april. if you take a look at the worst-performing currencies for the month of january, we do see that they have recovered a lot of their lost ground. here is the lira. that is a recovery so far. we are looking at a six month chart. if you take a look at the rialto the central bank has hiked rates repeatedly there. we also see that struck -- that has

most economists see the boj governor kuroda holding off from announcing on any new policy stimulus tomorrowat growing numbers see the boj doubling etf purchases with july is the most favorite time for this move. rout in emerging markets is becoming a little more than a fading memory. the bloomberg index of 20 developing nation currencies has a race this year's losses. emerging market etf attracted, get this, one $.4 billion in funds in the first three days of april. a little bitgs out more, collections of the world's largest democracy today. the elections in india take place over the next five weeks, and ahead of this crucial vote, investors have shown their vote of confidence, funneling over $10 billion into india's financial markets year to date. those are the stories driving your forex markets this monday morning. let's get more on that market perspective on india with my next guest, tim condon, head of asian research at ing. he rejoins us live from singapore. we have seen $10 billion funneled back into indian stocks and bonds. the rupee currently the second-best performer amongst global